Apparatus for applying a plurality of articles to a backboard



June 21, 1938. A. A. MASSINI APPARATUS FOR APPLYING A PLURALITY OFARTICLES TO A BACKBOARD Filed Feb. 12, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 ll\l\/ENTOR ATTORNEY June 21, 1938. A. A. MASSINI APPARATUS FOR APPLYING APLURALITY OF ARTICLES TO A BACKBOARD Filed Feb 12, 1937- 5 Sheets-Sheet2 INVENTOE ATTORNEY June 21, 1938 A. A. MASSINI I APPARATUS FOR APPLYINGA PLURALITY OF ARTICLES TO A BACKBOARD I i 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb.12, 1937 INVENTOE 13 T TO N E Y June 21, 1938 A. A. MASSINI 2,121,434APPARATUS FOR APPLYING A PLURALITY' OF ARTICLES TO A BACKBOARD,

Filed Feb. 12, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 4' QOOOOOO O O oo 0 0 INVENTOEATTORNEY June 21, 1938. A MAs$|N| 7 2,121,484

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING A PLURALITY OF ARTICLES TO BACKBOARD Filed Feb.12, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 v I INVE NTOE ATTOE NEY Patented June 21, 1938PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR APPLYING A PLURALITY F ARTICLES TO ABACKBOARD Alvin A. Massini, Wheeling, w. Va.

Application February 12, 1937, Serial No. 125,519

9 Claims.

This invention relates broadly to apparatus for automatically mounting aplurality of elements upon a backboard.

. In certain indoor recreational games a plurality of printed,rectangularly shaped strips of paper are individually pasted by one endthereof in uniformly spaced, parallel rows upon a backboard, usually ofcardboard. Said strips have the unattached end folded about itself andsecured in folded relation by a transverse gummed retaining band.Printed on the inner surface of the folded portion of the strip andinvisible to the eye by reason of the fold is information of interestpertaining to the game. Upon participating in the game, a player pullsone or more of the pasted strips from the board; ruptures the paperbanding seal, and unfolds the end of the strip to reveal the previouslyhidden printed information which informs the player of matter having todo with the further progress of the game.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a machine wherebysaid strips of papers, termed tickets? in the trade, may beautomatically and neatly applied to the backboard in uniformly spacedparallel rows.

The full nature of the invention and. other features thereof will beunderstood from the accompanying drawings and the following description.In said drawings- Figure l is a front elevation view of the machine;

Figure 2 is an end elevation of the same;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the same;

Figure 4 is an enlarged section taken on line 4-4, of Fig. 1;

Figure 5 is a section taken on line 5--5, Fig. 3, illustrating in detailthe glue reservoir and 4 glue rolls;

Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 66, Fig. 3;

Figure '7 is an enlarged top plan view ticket carrying chain and guide;

Figure 8 is a detail view taken on Fig. 4;

Figure 9 is a perspective view of one of the tickets;

Figure 10 is a top plan view of an assembled board; and

Figure 11 is a fragmentary side view of an assembled board, the Viewbeing drawn to a scale larger than that illustrated in Fig. 10.

Referring to said drawings, the reference numeral l designates .the bedplate of the maof the line a- -a,

chine, which latter is provided with legs 2 and carries a supportingframe work 3 designed to support the mechanism. Extending longitudinallyis a front drive shaft 4, suitably journaled in appropriate bearingsprovided in the frame 3, said shaft being adapted to be driven by anysuitable means, as the pulley wheel 5.

Fixed to and actuated by the shaft 4 adjacent one end thereof is aneccentric 8 connected to a rocker arm 8 by means of a connecting rod I.Fixed to the upper end of the rocker arm 8 is a pawl 9 adapted tosuccessively engage the teeth of a ratchet gear Ill fixed to an uppershaft II, which latteris journaled in suitable bearings provided in theframe 3 and a pedestal I2, the latter being supported by the bed plate Iand attached thereto by bolts. Obviously, this construction affordsintermittent rotation of the upper shaft II during continuous rotationof the front shaft 4.

Carried by the opposite end of the shaft II is a bevel gear l3 designedto mesh with a second bevel gear l4 fixed to the end of a short shaft I5journaled in bearings attached to the frame 3. Spaced sprocket wheels I6are attached to the shaft I5 intermediate its bearings and are designedto receive a pair of spaced, parallel, endless ticket carrying chainsI'I which extend throughout the longitudinal extent of the apparatus andencircle a second pair of sprocket wheels l8 borne by an idler shaft [9provided on' the opposite end of the apparatus. A plurality ofprotruding lugs I! are provided on each of the chains I! atpredeterminedly spaced distances and a ticket 24 is designed to besupported transversely across the chains I1 between each' two adjacentlugs Il the ticket laying across the chains with its folded end towardthe front of the machine.

As best shown in Figs. 4 and 7, a guide plate 2|! is fastened to andsupported by the frame work 3 and extends parallel to the ticketcarrying chains II throughout theentire extent of the apparatus, thesame serving as a straight edge and tending to keep the carried ticketsin alignment. A pair of angles 2| confine the two chains l1 throughouttheir longitudinal extent, and interposed between the two chains is alongitudinal spacing bar 22, this construction, as shown in Fig. 4,afiording a separate race for the travel of each chain. A guide plate 23disposed opposite the straight edge 29, also extends parallel to thechains I'I throughout their longitudinal extent and has its upper endoccupying the same horizontal plane as that occupied by the chains I1.Consequently, the extremity of the unfolded end of the ticket borne bythe chains is supported by the plate 23. Said plate 23 has a series ofequally spaced upstanding lugs 25 formed on its upper edge, the leadingvertical edge thereof being cut away at an angle of approximately 45. Asthe tickets progressively move forward on the chain H (from left toright in Fig. 3) the extremity of the unfolded end of each ticket willperiodically engage the inwardly directed 45 angle of each of theupstanding lugs 25 of the plate 23 so as to force the folded edge of theticket into contact with the straight edge 26 for maintaining thealignment of the traveling tickets.

Aligned with the pedestal |2 rearwardly of the latter is a somewhatsimilar pedestal 26.

Journaled in bearings provided in the pedestalsl2 and 26 is a transverseshaft 21, the same at its outer end carrying a spiral gear 28 whichmeshes with a spiral gear 29 fixed to the shaft ll whereby rotation ofthe transverse shaft 21 is affected. Interposed between the twopedestals is a reservoir 30, designed to contain liquid glue ormuc'ilage. A roller 3| mounted on a shaft 32 is designed to be partiallyimmersed in the liquid adhesive and is rotated therein by means of achain 33 operable on sprocket wheels carried by the shafts 21 and 32. Aglue disc 34 borne by the shaft 21 contacts the roller 3| fortransmitting a quantity of the adhesive to the tickets. Since the gluedisc 34 occupies a position in the space intermediate the chains l1 andthe guide 23 and has its upper periphery occupying substantially thesame plane as the carried tickets, a suitable quantity of the adhesivewill be deposited on the under side of the unfolded end of each ticketas the apparatus is in operation. A spreader or wiper 35 contacts theroller 3| above the level of the adhesive for assuring a uniform film ofadhesive on the roller 3|.

An auxiliary frame 3 extends rearwardly of the major mechanism andSupports in appropriate bearings a driving shaft 36 and a driven shaft31. Two spaced parallel, endless, backboard carrying chains 38 encirclesprocket wheels 39 fixed to the driven shaft 31 at the rear of themachine and extend forwardly to the front of the machine beneath themounting unit (hereinafter described) where they encircle sprocketwheels 40 borne by an idler shaft 4|.

A pinion 42 borne by the front shaft 4 through the medium of an idlergear meshes with and drives a gear 43 fixed to a rear shaft 44, theratio of the pinion to the gear herein being six to one. is an eccentric45 connected to a rocker arm 46 by a connecting rod 41, said rocker armbeing pivoted on the shaft 36, which latter also has fixed theretoaratchet gear 48. Pivoted to the upper end of the rocker arm 46'is apawl 49 adapted to successively engage the teeth of the ratchet gear 48for intermittently rotating the shaft 36. Such intermittent rotation is,in turn, transmitted to the shaft 31 by an endless chain 5|) operable onsprocket wheels 5| and 52 fixed to the ends of the shafts 36 and 31,respectively. Forward intermittent movement of the upper half of thechains 38 is effected through rotationof the shaft 31. Said chains aredesigned to support a cardboard backing 53 between each two sets ofengaging lugs 54 borne bythe chains, and forward movement of the chains38, due to the ratchet. gear 48.

Fixed to and actuated by the shaft 44 7 the six to one transmissiongearing, is effected but once to every six intermittent movements of theticket carrying chains H, as will hereinafter be made apparent duringthe description of the detailed operation of the apparatus. Angle irons15 occupy spaced, parallel relation to said chains 38 for forming guidewalls for the backings 53 during their forward travel.

Fixed to and actuated byrotation of the shaft 4 is an eccentric 55connected to a rocker arm 56 by a connecting rod 51, said rocker armbeing pivoted on the shaft 36 at the side of the ratchet gear 48opposite that occupied by the rocker arm 46. Pivoted to the upper end ofthe rocker arm 56 is a pawl 58 adapted to oscillate about The majorityof the teeth on the ratchet gear 48 are covered by an attached shield 59so that but a minor portion of the teeth are exposed to the action ofthe pawl 58, and, thus, the pawl 58 is effective only when contactingthe exposed teeth. Here, again, it may be pointed out that the operationof the rocker arm 56 and pawl 58 is six times faster than the operationof the rocker arm 46 and pawl 49. The function of the chains 38 and theactuating mechanism is to successively deliver the cardboard backings 53to and beneath the apparatus for mounting the tickets thereon, thetiming of the travel of the chains and the operation of the pawls beingdesigned to move the board at predetermined intervals and distances soas to secure a proper aligned arrangement of the tickets on the backing,all of which will hereinafter be made apparent.

Attached to the tallest vertical upright supports of the frame work 3and extending trans versely of the apparatus are parallel guide rods 60on each of which is slideable a bearing block 6|, said bearing blocksbeing connected by a connecting bar 62. Depending downwardly from eachof the opposite bearing blocks 6| are two spaced, parallel guide pins 63on each opposite pair of which a plate 64 is vertically slideable.Provided on the outer face of each plate 64 is a roller 65 designed tobe received within the longitudinally extending race 66 of an arm 61pivotally attached at its front end to the frame 3. Connecting theopposite plates 64 are two spaced, parallel guide rods 68 designed tosupport in sliding relation thereon a series ofmounting heads 69.Protruding upwardly from each of the mounting heads 69 is a fixed pin 10adapted to be received and longitudinally slideable in the way of aregistering guide bar 1 As best shown in Fig. 3, one such guide bar 1|is provided for each mounting head pin, said bars being supported ininwardly, convergently inclined relation by substantially U-shapedsupports 12 and 13, the latter having a longitudinal extending slot 14provided therein for affording adjustable means whereby the spacing ofthe inner ends of the bars 1| may be varied when desired.

Pivotally attached to the free, or inner, end of each arm 61 is theupper end of a vertical connecting rod 15, the lower end of the latterbeing ivotally connected to a lever 16 whose opposite end is pivotallyattached to the frame 3. A roller 11 is appropriately attached to eachlever 16 and engages and rides a cam 18 carried by the shaft 44, saidroller 11 being maintained in contacting relation on the cam 18 by meansof a retractile coil spring 19 connecting the lever 16 with the baseplate I. Obviously, the entire mounting mechanism, including the heads69, are maintained elevated until the low portion of the cam 18 isreached by the roller, at which time the entire mechanism dropsdownwardly until it strikes an underlying supporting table 80 whoseupper face is a fiat plane. Continued rotation of the cam again elevatesthe mounting mechanism.

Connecting the upper side of each bearing block Si is a rod 92 to whichis pivotally connected two rearwardly extending connecting rods 8!, eachhaving its rear end pivotally fastened to a lever 82 whose lower end ispivoted to the base I. A roller 83 is appropriately carried by eachlever 82 and contacts the periphery of a cam 86 mounted on the shaft 44,the roller 83 being maintained in contacting relation on the cam 84 bymeans of a retractile coil spring 85 connecting the lever 82 with thefront portion of the frame 3. Actuation of the lever imparts a forwardand backward reciprocable movementto the bearing blocks 6! and thethereby supported mounting mechanism.

A vacuum tank 86 is suitably supported on the rear of the frame and hasa conductor line 81 leading to an auxiliary tank 81 mounted adjacent thetop of the machine. A flexible hose line 88 leads to each mounting head69 and connects with suction ports 89 provided in the lower face of eachhead 69. A valve 90 is interposed between the vacuum tank 86 and theconductor line 81 and is periodically opened and closed by a cam 9!mounted on the end of the shaft 44.

As previously stated herein, and as illustrated in Fig. 10 of thedrawings, it is the object of the invention to neatly attach the ticketsin uniformly spaced parallel rows on the backboard 53. The boardillustrated is designed to have attached thereto one hundred and twentytickets, the tickets being uniformly disposed in six rows, each rowconsisting of twenty tickets. It will be understood, however, thatapparatus may be constructed according to the instant invention wherebyany number of tickets may be mounted in any number of rows orcombinations. It may also be here pointed out that a predetermined sizedspace adjacent the top of the backboard is devoid of attached tickets,this space being left blank so as to accommodate printed matter, asdirections, advertising, and the like. The operation of mounting thetickets is accomplished in the following manner:

The tickets 2% are fed to the ticket carrying chains ii in anyappropriate manner and one ticket is deposited, either mechanically ormanually, on the chains i7 between two adjacent sets of lugs Il thefolded end of the ticket being toward the front of the machine. Thetickets are then carried longitudinallyof the apparatus toward themounting apparatus by rapid inter mittent travel of the chains and asthey successively pass the glue disc 34 an appropriate quantity ofadhesive is deposited on the under side of the ticket adjacent itsnon-folded end, the lugs of the guide plate 23 keeping the tickets inalignment against the straight edge 2i) during travel of the tickets.

When six tickets have been successively ad vanced beneath the mountingapparatus, the levers 82 are actuated to move forwardly, thereby alsomoving the mounting apparatus toward the front of the machine so that itdirectly overlies the chains and tickets carried thereby. As themounting apparatus is so moved forwardly, the guide pins iii travelforwardly in the ways of their respective guide bars H and the heads 69are thus moved apart a distance corresponding to the spaced tickets. Atthis point the cam 9i actuates the vacuum control valve 90 so that thevalve is opened, resulting in a suction at the mounting head ports 89.The suction applied above'each ticket results in each ticket being drawnupwardly to attach itself to the head 69 with which it is aligned.Following such attachment of the ticket to the head, the levers 82 areautomatically moved rearwardly by the cam 84 and the entire mountingmechanism is thus like wise moved rearwardly to a point in verticaltickets directly overlie the table 8|], the cam 18 is so designed and isso timed in its rotation that the roller Ti of the lever 16 rides intothe low portion of the cam thereby forcibly dropping the mounting unitdownwardly. One of the backboards 53 has previously beendeposited onsaid table 85) in an appropriate position and is so supported by thechains 38, angle irons I5 and table Bil. The lowering of the mountingunit, as above described, results in the thereby carried ticketscontacting the backboard. When this stage is reached, the cam 9| in itscontinued rotation actuates the vacuum control valve 90 so that it isclosed and the vacuum discontinued. With discontinuance of the suctionforce through the head ports 89, the tickets no longer are attached tothe heads 69 but, rather, become ad hered to thebackboard by reason-ofthe adhesive borne by the surface of the ticket next to said As themounting unit moves forwardly to pick up a second set of tickets, theeccentric through its associated rocker arm .6; connecting rod 41, andpawl 49 actuates the ratchet gear 48 to rotate forward slightly (onetooth), thereby causing slight rotation of the connected shafts 36 and31. Such slight rotation moves the upper portion of the backboardcarrying chains 38 forwardly a short distance equal to the distancedesired to separate the transverse rows of tickets on the boards. Thus,the board borne by the chains beneath the mounting unit is advancedforwardly the desired distance to position it for deposition of a secondrow of tickets thereon by the mounting unit. i

The mounting operation continues until the required twenty rows oftickets have been deposited on the backboard. At this point, the spaceat the :top of the backboard where no tickets are desired is beneath theunit and it becomes necessary to remove the filled board and replace itwith another. This operation is accomplished in the following manner:

During the period in which the tickets are being applied to the board,the pawl 58 has been ineffectually actuated because it has been shieldedfrom the teeth of the ratchet gear 48 by the guard. 59. However, whensaid ratchet gear 48 has been-intermittently rotated twenty times by thepawl 49 to space the transverse rows of applied tickets, the exposedteeth of the ratchet gear 48 will be presented to the action of the pawl58 and are thereby engaged. Since the pawl 58 is actuated six timesfaster than the pawl 49, the ratchet gear is rapidly and intermittentlyrotated so as to rapidly move the chains 38 forwardly for dischargingthe filled board from the machine and into a suitable receptacle (notshown). The exposed teeth on the ratchet gear 48 correspond to thedistance required for the chains to travel to discharge the filled boardand position another beneath the mounting unit. As soon as this distanceis traversed, the shield 59 presents itself to the pawl 58 and rendersthe latter ineffective until the last mentioned board is filled and isto be discharged from the apparatus.

The operation of the machine is continuous and the sameis designed tooperate at compara- -tively high speeds without undue strain or injurytoany oi the mechanism.

The various shafts, cams and eccentrics are produced and assembled withprecision so that all movements are synchronized to avoid anyinterruption of operation or improper functioning of the machine. 7While the invention is designed and is herein described as beingutilized for pasting paper tickets on a backing, it will be understoodthat it is capable of other uses. For instance, paper bags or envelopescontaining nut meats, confections, or medicines, may be applied to abackboard by utilizing the present invention.

What is claimed is 1. In apparatus for applying a plurality ofindividual articles to a backboard in uniformly spaced longitudinal andtransverse rows, consisting of a vertically and longitudinallyreciprocable mounting unit, conveyor means for carrying a plurality ofsaid articles and successively presenting the same in the operating areaof the mounting unit, other conveyor means for carrying the backboardand adapted to present the backboard within the operating area of themounting unit, the latter unit being adapted to be actuated'so as totransport a predetermined number of said articles from their conveyor tosaid backboard and to deposit said articles thereon in such anarrangement that said articles form an aligned row, and means forintermittently actuating the backboard conveyor means to periodicallyadvance the thereby carried backboard so as to appropriately positionthe latter for the reception of successive rows of articles 2. Inapparatus for applying a plurality of individual articles to abackboardin uniformly spaced longitudinal and transverse rows,consisting of a vertically and longitudinally reciprocable mountingunit, conveyor means for carrying a plurality of said articles andsuccessively presenting the same in the operating area of the mountingunit, other conveyor means for carrying the backboard and adapted topresent the backboard within the operating area of the mounting unit,the latter unit being adapted to be actuated so as to transport apredetermined number of said articles from their conveyor to saidbackboard and to deposit said articles thereon in such an arrangementthat said articles form an aligned row, means for intermittentlyactuating the backboard conveyor means to periodically advance thethereby carried backboard so as to appropriately position the latter forthe reception of successive rows of articles, and other means forperiodically actuating the backboard conveyor means to more rapidlyadvance the thereby carried backboard when said board has had therequired rows of articles deposited thereon for discharging thecompleted board from the apparatus and for depositing a successive boardwithin the operating area of the mounting unit.

3. In apparatus for applying a plurality of individual articles to abackboard in uniformly spaced longitudinal and transverse rows,consisting of a conveyor for carrying said articles in single filerelation, other conveyor means for transporting a plurality ofbackboards in single file relation, a mounting unit at the junction ofsaid conveyors, actuating means for periodically reciprocating saidmounting unit forwardly and rearwardly so as to procure a predeterminednumber of articles from their conveyor and position the same inalignment in a predetermined position above the foremost of saidbackboards, other actuating means for vertically reciprocating saidmounting unit'so that said articles are transferred to and deposited onsaid foremost back in an aligned row, and means for intermittentlyactuating the backboard conveyor means to intermittently advance thethereby carried backboards so as to appropriately position the foremostof said boards for the reception of successive rowsof articles as theyare successively represented thereto during successive forwardly andrearwardly reciprocations of the mounting unit.

' 4. In apparatus for applying a plurality of individual articles to abackboard in uniformly spaced longitudinal and transverse rows,consisting of a conveyor for carrying said articles in single filerelation, other conveyor means for transporting a plurality ofbackboards in single file relation, a mounting unit at the junction ofsaid conveyors, actuating means for periodically reciprocating saidmounting unit forwardly and rearwardly so as to procure a predeterminednumber of articles from their conveyor and position the same inalignment in a predetermined position abovethe foremost of saidbackboards, other actuating means for vertically reciprocating saidmounting unit so that said articles are transferred to and deposited onsaid foremost backboard in an aligned row, means for intermittentlyactuating the backboard conveyor means to intermittently advance thethereby carried backboards so as to appropriately position the foremostof said backboards for the reception of successive rows of articles asthey are successively presented thereto during successive forwardly andrearwardly reciprocations of the mounting unit, and other means forperiodically actuating the backboard conveyor means to more rapidlyadvance the thereby carried backboards whensaid foremost board has hadthe required rows of articles deposited thereon for discharging thecompleted board from the apparatus and for depositing a successive boardWithin the operating area of the mounting unit.

5. In apparatus for applying a plurality of individual articles to abackboard in uniformly spaced longitudinal and transverse rows,consisting of a conveyor for carrying said articles in single filerelation, other conveyor means for transporting a plurality ofbackboards in single file relation, a mounting unit at the junction ofsaid conveyors, means for applying adhesive to said articles as they aretransported on their conveyor, actuating means for periodicallyreciprocating the mounting unit forwardly and rearwardly so as toprocure a predetermined number of articles from their conveyor andposition the same in alignment in a predetermined position above theforemost of said backboards, other actuating means for verticallyreciprocating said mounting unit so that said articles are transferredto and deposited on said foremost backboard in an aligned row, saidadhesive fastening said articles to said backboard.

6. In apparatus for applying a plurality of individual articles to abackboard in uniformly spaced rows, a mounting unit including a seriesof mounting heads, each of said heads having a port therein connected toa vacuum source, conveyor means for successively presenting the articlesbeneath the mounting unit, other means i for presenting a backboardbeneath said mounting unit, actuating means whereby said mounting unitis caused to travel between said article conveyor means and saidbackboard, means for introducing suction force to saidhead ports whensaid mounting unit is in the vicinity of saidconveyor means whereby aplurality of articles are transferred from the conveyor means to themounting heads, and means thereafter actuating said mounting unitwhereby said heads and the thereby carried articles are moved intocontacting relation with said backboard for depositing the articles onsaid backboard in an aligned row after cessation of the suction forceapplied to said head ports, and means for moving said backboard beneathsaid mounting unit for each complete reciprocation of said mounting unitbetween said article conveyor and said backboard.

'7. In apparatus for applying a plurality of individual articles to abackboard in uniformly spaced rows, a mounting unit including a seriesof mounting heads, each of said heads having a port therein connected toa vacuum source, conveyor means for successively presenting the articlesbeneath the mounting unit, other means by carried articles are movedinto contacting relation with said backboard for depositing the articleson said backboard in an aligned row after cessation of the suction forceapplied to said suction ports, means for moving said backboard beneathsaid mounting unit for each complete reciprocation of said mounting unitbetween said article conveyor and said backboard, and'guide meansgoverning the course of travel of said mounting heads between saidarticle conveyor means and said backboard.

8. In apparatus for applying a plurality of individual articles to abackboard in uniformly spaced rows, a mounting unit including a seriesof mounting heads, each of said heads having a port therein connected toa vacuum source, conveyor means for successively presenting the articlesbeneath the mounting unit, other means for presenting a backboardbeneath said mounting unit, actuating means whereby said mounting unitis caused to travel between said article conveyor means and saidbackboard, means for introducing suction force to said head ports whensaid mounting unit is in the vicinity of said conveyor means whereby aplurality of articles are transferred from the conveyor means to themounting heads, means thereafter actuating said mounting unit wherebysaid heads and the thereby carried articles are moved into contactingrelation with said backboard for depositing the articles on saidbackboard in an aligned row after cessation of the suction force appliedto said head ports, means for moving said backboard beneath saidmounting unit for each complete reciprocation of said mounting unitbetween said article conveyor and said backboard, and guide meansgoverning the course of travel of said mounting heads between saidarticle conveyor means and said backboard, said guide means beingadjustable so that the spacing of said heads may be varied.

9. In a machine for applying a plurality of individual articles to abackboard, comprising a mounting unit, means for conveying the articlesto be mounted, means for conveying a backboard and positioning the sameto have the articles deposited thereon, the mounting unit being adaptedto transport the articles from the first conveying means to saidbackboard for deposition thereon, and means for thereafter positioningsaid backboard in a different position so as to

